Friday, November 14, 2014

I was recently made aware by a friend that I had neglected to explain the term, "coffeeneuring" fully. He assumed I had made it up and it was similar to canyoneering. While somebody did coin the term, I can't take the credit. It has origins in both Seattle and Washington, DC and ties into the sport of Randonneuring.

Randonneuring, a little-known sport in cycling. It comes from the French and is basically long-distance cycling (100 to 1,000K) with lots and lots of rules. The main rule is that there is a time limit, within which all of your activities must be contained: cycling, eating, sleeping, peeing, etc. The "Randos", as they are referred to, love pedaling their bicycles and ride during the day and through the night, sometimes sleeping in phone booths or in the back of 7-Elevens (true stories from a rando friend). I once participated in a rando event called the Wine Country Populaire. It could be described as Rando Lite, as the distance was very manageable (100K – 60 miles) and we slept in beds at the end of the day. I think the organizers were just hoping to gain a few more recruits to head down the slippery road of randonneuring; something about riding these long distances makes them very, very nice people. Almost too nice.

Back to the subject at hand... these rando people sometimes like to take it easy, if you can imagine that. They ride over hill and dale through the day and night, but then tootle down the street (still on their bikes, of course) to a coffee shop to perk themselves up. That is where Coffeeneuring was born – what randonneurs do when they're not out completing their bajillion-mile rides. Joe Platzner, a Seattle Randonneur, was quoted as saying, "A bunch of us have trained pretty hard for PBP (Paris-Brest-Paris). After PBP, I'm probably going to lobby RUSA for an official "Coffee Shop Run" medal. To earn it, you need to ride your bike slowly to a nearby coffee shop and enjoy a fine beverage." Shortly thereafter, a randonneur in DC coined the term "Coffeeneur".

Of course, Coffeeneuring has rules, too, though not nearly as stringent as the Rando version. Plus, there's a commemorative patch for all my hard work at the end, which is produced the the author of Chasing Mailboxes.

Monday, November 10, 2014

It looks as though this is a banner year for completing things. First nursing school and now the Coffeeneuring Challenge. Yay!

I rode one of my favorite in-city loops, starting down Roosevelt Way. The pavement cracks have been sealed recently and it's clear that all the cracks are in the bike lane (lame) which I avoided by taking the lane (totally doable when wearing a bike skirt). I turned down Roanoke Street to ride the bikeway along the lake, then connected to the bike route along Fairview and through the confusing bit where it crosses the South Lake Union Trolley (SLUT – seriously!) tracks, turning right to the South Lake Union Park (SLUP is not nearly as fun).

sunshine in November!

I found a seating area that provided some shelter from the north wind on this beautifully sunny but cool day. Several people passed by and I was ready to talk about "Coffee in the Parks" which is to say I was going to be messing with them, but no one gave me a second look. I guess brewing coffee is so commonplace, that doing it outside on a sunny day, in a park, by yourself, next to your bike is nothing special. There went my attempt at fame.

When I had poured my milk in and relaxed to drink it, two people walked by with Starbucks cups in hands. Oh Starbucks, you naughty bastards, talking about sustainability and fair trade on your website and then trying to prevent the pure-maple-syrup-state of Vermont from labeling GMOs. Want to know more? (of course you do), go here. Then here to sign a petition.

A re-located treasure

Back to my beautiful sunny day... I packed up and finished the loop with a little hillclimb where I was passed by a woman with snow boots on. I will take that as a sign, as we are expecting some chilly weather ahead this week. Perhaps I will go on to CC, Day #8 and warm up later in the week in a cafe. Stay tuned...

Also, stay tuned for another post about this Coffeeneuring business and how it came to be.

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Today (Friday) I broke with my coffeeneuring pattern and, instead of brewing my own in the great outdoors, I had someone make it for me, then I drank it at a park. That was not the original plan, but after spending a ridiculous amount of time driving this week, and a lot of it in traffic that, frankly, shouldn't even exist at the hours in which I was on the roads, I was feeling like I needed some TLC.
Total Love Coffee. Coffee baristas: show me the love in my cup, please! I am a road-weary traveler in need of some caffeine to set things right. I lack the energy it requires to pack up my brewing gear and create fire. Oh, won't you be so kind as to pull me a lovely shot or two of espresso and make it look pretty with some foam on top?

One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle is a place with organic and vegan food. Yes, that's right, this meat-eater loves vegan food. They make cheese from nuts, eggs from tofu and have the best cupcakes and pie anywhere, without the use of butter. I've been there for brunch, lunch, dinner, a Valentine's Day celebration and study groups; it comes close for return visits with Mr. Gyros (where I get my weekly Lamb Gyros). They also serve Stumptown Coffee, don't charge extra for non-dairy milk and their baristas are neither hippies, nor too hip to be friendly.

nothing average about Chaco

It was a beautiful day and I locked my bike up outside, noting that their outdoor seating was in the shade, a shame on a sunny day in November. After getting a hazelnut chocolate cookie in a bag and my latte in a to-go cup, I set the cup into a pocket of my Detours bike bag to drink it at a park. It seemed a little precarious, but I had no other choice, as I had not brought my personal cup. While several blocks of 12th Ave NE is baby-bottom smooth, plenty of it is not and so, when I arrived at the park along boat street, I had lost about 2oz of my coffee. Oh well, it was time to clean my bike bag anyway.

From the park on Boat Street, I could see the I–5 bridge and how slowly traffic was moving in the southbound direction and, for the first time for the week, seeing traffic was very satisfying.

Monday, November 3, 2014

Today, I fully realized the downside to putting off the start of my challenge – November is a month renowned for crappy weather. First, the rains begin, then the wind comes (and with it, down come the leaves), then the time goes back to Standard, making it that much more dark. I got a break in the rain, much like I did on Day #1, and set off toward Ravenna Boulevard, taking the path of most resistance. Yes, you read that right, most resistance, as in more gradual downhills so that I wouldn't have to brake too much on the wet roads. Braking on wet rims leads to less ability to stop effectively and I was going to be descending from Phinney Ridge down toward the Ravenna neighborhood and I wanted to be as safe as possible.

It ended up being a very nice route, as I cycled on the recently re-paved section of road that went south around Green Lake, then along Ravenna Blvd and to my destination near 20th Ave NE, at Seven Market & Cafe. I don't know how many times I have passed by this cafe/store which used to be called Boulevard Grocery. But this was the first time I was stopping in for something hot and creamy. This was not an uncommon sentiment heard at the cafe; it is the only commercial building among houses and on a section of downhill that does not lend itself to stopping. But stop, I did, and I locked my bike up right in front.

Almond Milk Latte

The barista welcomed me and when I ordered, asked if I wanted the standard of 3 shots in my latte. Whoa... 3 shots... I wouldn't have to pedal home! She brought my almond latte over to the table where I sat with my book. I looked around and saw some people with laptops and some with, like me, actual pen and paper. Like the grocery store we were in, with shelves stocked with all kinds of things that a nearby resident would want (snacks, chocolate, makings for a quick dinner, tea and coffee), the customers seemed to be throwbacks from an earlier era. I fit right in with my book.